Decades ago, before the likes of Whole Foods began offering prepared meals, Pearson & Co. was the destination for folks with a taste for gourmet who wanted a freshly cooked meal to eat at home.
Now, veteran Sonoma County restaurateur Josef Keller has taken over the Santa Rosa institution, honoring the menu items that Pearson customers have grown to love, while adding his own specialties to the mix.
Keller, 59, is known for his previous local restaurants, Josef's Restaurant & Bar and La Provence. He and his wife, Jill Keller-Peters, purchased Pearson & Co. in late January, but waited until this week to announce the acquisition because Keller wanted to get his feet wet in the kitchen, he said.
"When I sold out the Josef's restaurant, it was time for me to take a break," Keller said. "We took a year and a half off, and I needed it, definitely.
"After being in Sonoma County for 30 years, I have a pretty loyal following," he continued. "I had three restaurants in town and two of them were very successful. So I hope I can be very successful again."
Pearson & Co. opened in 1996, and Kendra and Mike McCoy bought the business in 1999. They weren't planning to sell the business when Keller approached them, Kendra McCoy said.
"But we are getting on in years. We're both over 70, so with that in mind, it was a good time to retire," McCoy said. "I already miss the customers and employees a lot. They kept us young."
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Keller, who had been working with Meals on Wheels to revamp its kitchen, decided to bounce back from retirement when the bills started rolling in.
"Unfortunately my stock market portfolio and my real estate portfolio weren't doing anything in the last couple of years, like everyone else's," Keller said. "So we needed an income again."
So far, Keller has continued offering about three quarters of Pearson's menu items, like the popular eggplant parmesan. His own dishes, like salmon en croute, make up the other quarter, a percentage he'll likely increase over time. At the moment, he's trying to find a way to sell rack of lamb. Keller also plans to sell rare wines and locally produced jams, chutneys and pastas.
"It's kind of filling the void of Traverso's," Keller said.
Pearson & Co. has two retail locations, runs the cafeteria and a coffee shop at Kaiser Permanente, and operates the cafeteria at JDSU. Keller has retained two-thirds of the staff of about 28 employees, and the rest either quit or were let go, he said. Hiring replacements is an ongoing process.
"That's actually my biggest problem right now, payroll, because it's pretty expensive," Keller said. "I'd love to see this business picking up so we can hire good management and I can spend more time in the kitchen.
"I put a lot of my money into this. I hope it will be successful," he said.
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